Aether had always been reluctant to reveal his trump card, Paimon Time, in front of others. Even when exploring the Dungeon alone, he'd make Paimon support him as discreetly as possible.
Now it was no different. Taking advantage of her natural invisibility and phase-through abilities, Aether had already sent her to scout the surrounding terrain. He needed to know exactly where they were.
According to the Guild's data, the Dungeon's floors grew wider the deeper one went. By the time you reached the 40th Floor, its area was roughly equal to the entirety of Orario itself.
And how big is Orario?
Aether had calculated once. If you placed three Colosseum-sized structures inside the city, it still wouldn't feel cramped. That meant the current floor, close to the 40th, was immense.
And worse still… the 37th Floor was home to a Floor Boss.
If we stumble into the boss room without knowing our coordinates…
He smirked grimly. Yeah. Hands off the keyboard. Game over. No chance.
At that moment,
"How long before the monsters surround us?"
Through the mental link, Aether posed the question to Paimon.
Not long after,
"At most, two minutes."
Invisible, Paimon's voice came crisp and urgent.
"These monsters are all around potential Level 4 strength. They're not slow."
"And even though Razor wrecked some of the terrain earlier, the scope was limited. Since the Dungeon's already locked onto us, it might start spawning new monsters much closer."
"If that happens, you'll have even less time."
She was right. The fact there were so few monsters nearby right now was thanks entirely to Xiao and Razor.
Aether knew well, the Dungeon wasn't just stone and dirt. It was a living, thinking structure that loved toying with adventurers.
Even the mighty Loki Familia had faced plenty of life-or-death crises during their expeditions.
With that in mind,
"Cut the time in half. One minute. If we can't kill the Worm Well by then, we switch to my decoy tactic."
"You keep monitoring. If anything unexpected happens, don't worry about mana. Trigger Time Stop immediately, then report."
Decision made, sharp and swift.
"Got it!" Paimon answered, resuming her role as observer.
Back in the battlefield,
BOOM!
It was nighttime, and Aether's mana reserves were overflowing. Xiao was blinking about constantly, dragging Xingqiu along to keep the Worm Well's attention.
Honestly, the little adeptus had considered just dropping Xingqiu somewhere safe and pulling aggro alone. After all, he was the one who'd stabbed out the serpent's eye.
But no luck. For all its massive size, the beast's attacks were efficient.
Every sweep of its colossal tail forced Xiao to teleport or risk annihilation.
That was exactly why Aether and Diona had chosen to remain up high, well away from the chaos.
Aether could manage thanks to his Pseudo Wind King Barrier and the boosted speed from a dual-Anemo setup. But Diona…
Even if her fragile shield could block one hit, the cooldown's six to fifteen seconds. She's not suited for close quarters.
So,
CLANG!
Aether rammed a black spear into the cliffside, creating a makeshift anchor. Diona's tail wrapped around it, freeing both her hands.
"With a target this big, Hunter's Shot should work."
"Cryo-charged arrows with Xingqiu's Hydro for Freeze Reactions."
"Even limiting its movement a little is worth it."
As soon as Diona had her bow ready again, Aether didn't wait. He kicked off, barrier flaring, wings spreading, draining mana to gain altitude.
Target: the Worm Well's head.
"Time to counterattack."
BOOOOOM!
The thunderous impacts echoed across the floor. From near the ceiling, Paimon heard them all clearly.
Suspended high above the 37th Floor, she overlooked everything.
According to the Guild, this floor, the first of the Deep Levels, was also called the Palace of Azure.
Imagine a colossal, layered cake. Or… better yet, terraced rice fields like in Qingce Village.
The Palace was divided by five massive curved walls, forming six distinct zones from inner to outer:
Throne Hall
Knight Hall
Warrior Hall
Soldier Hall
Beast Hall
Outside the Walls
At the far southern end, the floor's lowest point, lay the stairway back to the 36th Floor. And deep within the Throne Hall… lurked the Floor Boss.
Descending further to the 38th Floor meant traversing a punishingly long route due to the bizarre elevation changes.
Currently,
"My main body and Lefiya are in the Warrior Hall, between the second and third walls."
"Not on the standard route. Just our luck."
"To get back on track, we'll have to pass through the Arena... hah, classic protagonist treatment."
Paimon sighed.
The Arena, a notorious sub-zone in the Warrior Hall. According to records, it had abruptly "formed" three decades ago.
Ever since, it constantly spawned monsters, maintaining their numbers at a frighteningly high threshold.
Inside, the monsters never stopped fighting each other. When one died, a new one spawned to replace it.
This endless bloodbath had raged for thirty years straight.
And if any outsider entered… all fighting ceased instantly. Every monster would unite and attack the intruder as their top priority target.
Rumor had it the Arena bred Mutated Elites, individuals stronger than their base species' potential.
A real Gu-style kill jar, raising power through endless slaughter.
It was a place even First-Class Adventurers feared.
Thus, it was called the Endless Chalice. A cup filled not with wine, but with blood, never-ending slaughter.
And come to think of it…
In the original timeline, that red-eyed rabbit just hit Level 4 and got wrecked here. The Familia Myth almost ended early.
As a side note,
"This place, like the Bloody Hive, was supposed to be my main farming spot later."
"But that's for the future."
Paimon crossed her arms, shaking her head.
"Going in now? Way too early."
"Better wait for Finn's group."
"Especially since Lefiya's with us."
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